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Comment same written language means not every has to or wa (Score 3) 562

A decade ago I visited my adult cousines in Guang Dong province and they barely spoke any mandarin. There was no need to. Local TV/radio was readily in Cantonese and they could read all national documents written in Chinese.

Situations have changed since there's more business dealings with those outside their province so they have since learned to speak mandarin fluently.

I imagine they treat the need to learn Mandarin in the same way Quebecois have to learn English.

Comment Re:Duh... (Score 1) 137

Even 12Mbps doesn't sound super fast to me. In Canada we've had real world speeds higher than this from most carriers since the start of 2010. Even on our newest budget network (WIND Mobile) I've gotten real world speeds of 7Mbps on my N900.

T-Mobile has even recently been started calling HSPA+ (21Mbps) as 4G. Well why not, if you think "up to 12Mbps" is 4G.

Our major carriers will be rolling out 42Mbps+ (not sure what real world speeds will be) HSPA soon, and they are still calling it 3G. It's only marketing in the US that pushes the definition beyond ITU standards.

I just find it funny that what US carriers call 4G is actually slow than most 3G networks around the world.

Comment Re:GSM is not HSPDA, Telus does not have GSM. (Score 1) 238

In any case all of Roger's Android devices does have 3G bands that will work with Bell and Telus. Telus also carries its own HSPA version of the HTC Hero.

So the article is wrong that Rogers is the only choice for Android in Canada, even if you ignore the fact that most Android devices that work on US networks will work on one or more of the HSPA networks with a SIM activation.

Comment Re:Anyone heard of the CDMA Android phones? (Score 2, Informative) 238

In Canada, the CDMA carriers (Telus, Bell) don't allow foreign CDMA handsets. So you couldn't import an unlocked Verizon DROID for example.

However, as of late last year, nearly all carriers now also have a UMTS/HSPA network (aka 3G GSM), including the new ones like WIND Mobile. They are all capable of using foreign handsets with compatible bands (which means AT&T or T-Mobile compatible depending on the network).

There actually isn't any CDMA Android devices in Canada. Telus does, however carry the UMTS/HSPA version of the HTC Hero. WIND Mobile can use all T-Mobile US Android devices including the Nexus One. Bell can use whatever Rogers and Telus offers.

The statement from the article "Rogers is the only GSM carrier in Canada and so the only choice for Android users" is completely for this reason.

Comment Re:GSM Providers (Score 3, Informative) 238

If you're going to count Fido as separate network (really a MVNO), then you might as well count Koodo , Solo and Virgin Canada as well. And technically Bell and Telus and their MVNO doesn't have a 2G GSM network, just a 3G UMTS/HSPA network.

You'll also need to include WIND Mobile too if you're counting 3G networks. Although they currently don't carry any Android devices, they are the only ones with T-Mobile US devices and Nexus One users (imported from US).

Out of all these, only Rogers (Dream/Magic/LG) and Telus (Hero) are carrying Android devices. The other networks are all capable of using imported devices by activating SIM accounts.

Comment Re:This could save Palm (Score 1) 617

Sure, if you like to count MVNos and sub-brands of Bell. There are probably 11 companies that offer GMS/HSPA in Canada as well if you count MVNOs; granted more users are still on CDMA tech.

Thankfully, all the big players will be on HSPA by next year in Canada.

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